


Hiding In Plain Sight

by Siberianskys



Category: Star Wars Original Trilogy, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: Backstory, Gen, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Leia Organa-centric, Not Canon Compliant, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-26
Updated: 2020-01-26
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:08:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 890
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22404652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Siberianskys/pseuds/Siberianskys
Summary: Prompt: Ray Guns
Relationships: Leia Organa & Original Female Character(s), Padmé Amidala & Leia Organa
Comments: 4
Kudos: 3
Collections: Fandom Snowflake Challenge, Ladies Bingo





	Hiding In Plain Sight

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Ladies Bingo and The Snowflake Challenge.

This wasn't the life that Leia had anticipated, but it was the life that fate had handed her. She remembered her mother, before her untimely death, whispering to her when she was very young that The Force would expect a lot from her. At the time, her tender age didn't allow her to understand her birth mother's words, now she wondered if she did. 

If she was going to use her position in the Imperial Senate to spy for the Rebellion then she would have to know how to defend herself when she took over her father's seat in less than 8 months, something she couldn't learn on her peaceful, adopted home world of Alderaan. 

As she transferred ships for the third time since her solitary trip began, she felt for the first time since she had left Alderaan that one of the stormtroopers standing guard at a security checkpoint was paying too much attention to her. She ignored him and handed the officer at the gate her forged ID card. She passed through without incident. When she got to her seat, there was a middle-aged, Corellian woman sitting in the seat next to hers. As she took her seat and put her carry-on under the seat in front of her, she felt the woman's eyes on her. Taking a settling breath she turned to her seatmate and smiled in what she hoped was in a typical, disinterested way. Leia had very little experience with commoners with the exception of staff and brief interactions at royal events, something else that was going to have to change.

"You look young to be traveling on your own," the woman said. 

Leia continued to breath in what she hoped was her normal rhythm and spoke the words that she had practiced over and over before she had set out to start her new life. "I'm going to visit my Nan. She's sick and my Mom can't leave the younger kids." When the woman nodded and returned to reading her tablet, Leia figured she'd been believed and hadn't called any undue attention to herself.

The last short leg of her trip ended almost before it began. As she joined her fellow passengers at their designated baggage claim she wondered if she should be concerned that she didn't see her seatmate. She decided that she was being paranoid; after all not everyone checked their luggage. Once she'd claimed her bag she followed the rest of the crowd in the direction of the port's Ground Transportation Center and went to the slot that her speeder and driver were assigned to. He drove her in silence to the section of the port that held private craft and dropped her off at her docking bay where her pilot was waiting for her. When the driver pulled away, Leia embraced her father's old friend Major Rieeken, whom she hadn't seen since she was a young girl, still wearing her hair down. 

"I believe, Your Royal Highness, that you've met Gunnery Sargent Antilles," Major Rieekan said, gesturing toward the middle-aged woman that she had just shared a row with. 

"Gunny," Leia said, addressing the woman.

I'll leave you to it," Major Rieekan said. "Gunny wanted to get started as soon as possible. I'll fly back separately."

Leia nodded, freeing the major to make his exit.

"If you're going to blend in, Princess," the gunny said, that's not going to work."

"What isn't going to work," Leia asked. 

"Your title," Gunny Antilles said. 

"What do you suggest?" Leia asked. 

"We're not a real formal bunch," the gunny said. "We have a lot of volunteers."

"Leia?" The princess asked. 

"If it doesn't make you uncomfortable," the gunny said. "I'd call you by your surname, which isn't uncommon around the base, but that would call as much attention to you as your title."

It''s what my family calls me," Leia said. 

"Then Leia it is," the gunny said. 

"How do I address you?" Leia asked. 

The Gunny smirked, enjoying the princess's cheek. "Mag, since you're not passing yourself off as a military recruit. No one will question it."

"You'd rather I call you Gunny?" Leia asked

"Most do," the gunny said.

"Okay, Gunny," Leia said. 

"I hear you know how to fly, Leia," the gunny said. 

"I'm okay," Leia said. 

"Show me what you've got," the gunny said, pointing toward the boarding ramp.

Leia walked up the shuttle's ramp, walked into the cock-pit and started running the pre-flight checklist as she strapped herself in. 

"The tower thinks we're headed toward Coruscant," the gunny said.

"Then we'll make our first jump in that direction," Leia said. 

The gunny nodded her approval. "And then we can jump to Dantooine."

Once settled in her quarters on the rebel base, Leia put on her fatigues that had been left on her bed and pulled on her combat boots. Faced with the blaster and holster, Leia didn't know what to do. She figured it was one of Gunny's tests that she was determined not to fail. Opening the door to her quarters, Leia stuck out her head and smirked at the gunny. "I may not have any weapons training, but I am smart enough not to know that I shouldn't handle a blaster that I don't know how to secure."

"Not bad, Leia, not bad," the gunny said.


End file.
